Love Between Friends
by HP Fan four
Summary: This is my first ever H/Hr fic. Basically, Harry's madly in love with Hermione, but decides not to tell her. Until they have a row and the truth unfolds...i HAVE ACTUALLY FINISHED CHAPTER FOUR!!!YES, IT'S UP AND ON DISPLAY!!!! ENJOY!!
1. Harry's Mistake

A/N This is my first ever H/Hr fic. That doesn't mean I don't read them, I'm just a much bigger believer in H/G, R/H because that way everyone's happy with no jealousy between friends or anything. Anyway, I read some amazing H/Hr fics lately, so I decided to try one of my own. Hope it's okay….

Chapter One 

"Potter! For the last time – **_WILL you pay attention_**?!"

Professor McGonagall's sharp, irritated voice jolted Harry to his senses and he was almost surprised to find himself in a Transfiguration lesson. He'd been staring at Hermione for most of the lesson, quite oblivious to who the teacher was, which lesson he was sitting in, or what exactly the class had been assigned to do. How could anyone be so perfect? He asked himself as he gawped at her; clever, sweet, caring, patient, graceful, wonderful…not to mention gorgeous… 

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat dangerously and Harry glanced around at the rest of the class. He assumed, eyeing the wagging golden retriever tail on Ron's table beside him, that they were supposed to be turning their desks into dogs, though only one member of the class had successfully done so. Harry was surprised he hadn't noticed the large Saint Bernhard sitting politely and quietly by Hermione's chair, as he'd done nothing but gaze dreamily at her since they'd sat down at the beginning of the lesson. Harry raised his eyes from the beautifully groomed canine to the girl it was sitting by, and felt the usual semi-consciousness settle gently on him. His heart felt strangely light as he watched her helping Neville, like it was just hovering inside him, full of light thoughts…thoughts he'd had for a while now…thoughts about his best friend…

Harry had felt strangely closer to Hermione ever since the end of his first year at Hogwarts, when she hugged him down in the last Chamber before the one with the Philosopher's Stone in it, after solving Snape's potion riddle. That was when his heart gave its first funny jolt, but being new to the feeling, he'd assumed it was just nerves at the prospect of facing Snape and Voldemort beyond those black flames. He was rather surprised at the deep jealousy he felt a few months later, when Hermione's crush on Lockhart became apparent, but disregarded the feeling, convincing himself it was just because Lockhart was such a big-headed moron. It wasn't until the row about the Firebolt a year later that Harry began asking himself about these feelings. If this was just another argument, why did his heart hurt so much? Why was it so painful to fall out with Hermione all of a sudden? They'd had their disagreements before, why did it bother him so much this time? The whole business with the Time-Turner, when they were alone in the forest, waiting for their past selves to walk out of the Whomping Willow, made him hope something might develop in the three hours they were alone, but the tension of making their mission to free Sirius and Buckbeak a success ruled that option out. The year that followed was by far the worst, trying to convince the entire wizarding world that Hermione was not his girlfriend, while desperately wishing she was. 

But now he was nearing the end of his fifth year at Hogwarts, less than a month away from his O.W.L exams and _madly_ in love with Hermione. He didn't see how he was going to pass these exams when she stole every ounce of concentration he had during his lessons and preparation exams. The effect she had on him incredible; he couldn't close his eyes at night without seeing a mental image of her beautiful smiling face, his mind was permanently seized up, unable to remove her from his thoughts…his heart pumped like a pneumatic drill when she looked into his eyes and rose like a hot air balloon when she smiled at him…

The bell rang at the end of the lesson and Harry watched Hermione scratch her Saint Bernhard's ears and bend down for him to lick her face before she waved her wand and transformed it instantly into its original desk form. She caught Harry's eye as she swung her bag over her shoulder and flashed him a small smile that made his heart beat like a battering ram against his ribs, as though it was trying to break out of his chest and get to her. She then joined the rest of the class as they filed out of the classroom, Harry watching her from his desk. 

Ron prodded him in the back and said "Wakey wakey! The Let's-all-stare-at-Hermione lesson's over! Didn't you hear the bell?"

Harry blushed as he got up and grabbed his bag, accidentally knocking his chair over as he swung it over his shoulder. 

"Coming to supper?" he asked, hoping to distract Ron.

"Um, probably not, actually," Ron replied awkwardly.

"Why not?"

"Well, I, um, sort of promised I'd take Paddy out for supper in Hogsmeade tonight," said Ron, his ears turning bright red.

"Paddy?"

"Padma," Ron explained, his face turning the same colour as his ears. 

Harry grinned, jiggling his eyebrows up and down. "You two must be getting pretty serious if you're using nicknames for each other, eh?"

"Well, yeah," said Ron, the embarrassment fading a little. "we became a lot keener on each other since the second task and now, well…"

"You're going out," Harry finished for him with the same smile. "You know there were rumours that you had a crush on Lavender…"

Ron pretended to recoil in disgust. "Lavender? Ugh! All she ever does is Divination homework and giggle!" 

They turned a corner and found Padma waiting for Ron next to the statue of the one-eyed witch.

"Hiya, Ronny!" she said cheerfully. 

"Hi Paddy!" Ron replied in a breathless sort of way Harry had only heard him use when he was talking to Fleur. 

Harry handed Ron the Invisibility Cloak and watched him and Padma disappear through the statue's hump into the secret passage to Honeydukes, sharing their happiness. Then, wondering if he and Hermione could ever get to that, he went down to supper. 

Well, it won't happen if he keeps his feelings to himself, that's for sure, he thought. If he wants to get anywhere with Hermione, he'll have to confess his feelings to her, but he'd heard just what terrible damage these emotional exposures can do to friendships, damage beyond repair, no matter how close the friendship was beforehand. He decided he wouldn't risk his friendship with Hermione for anything, she was too good a friend and besides, he knew Krum had broken her heart over the summer, so Harry was in no hurry to cause her any more emotional pain or confusion.

Harry reached the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Hermione. As he began piling some rice and sausages onto his plate, he felt the usual squirming in his insides and the warmth in his heart as he glanced sideways at her.

"So, what are your plans for the evening?" Harry asked Hermione, getting started on his supper. 

"Plans?" Hermione repeated. "We've got our O.W.Ls in a couple of weeks' time, how can anyone even think of '_plans_'?"

Harry raised his eyebrows at her. Much as he loved Hermione, he found her obsession with working slightly annoying. He admired her devotion to her studies, but sometimes felt she was being a bit extreme with her priorities.

"Don't you think you deserve a bit of a break?" he asked her, as she swallowed her last spoonful of mashed potatoes and stood up. 

"Nope," she replied. 

Harry abandoned his supper (he was never too hungry when Hermione was around anyway, his stomach was too busy writhing with excitement to admit any food) and followed her out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase.

"Come off it," he said reasonably and they made their way through a tapestry and climbed another flight of stairs. "You've been working non stop all day every day, can't you take just one evening off?" 

Hermione glanced at him, surprised. "What's brought all of this on?" 

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. I worry about you. I don't want you to over-work yourself or anything."

"Aw, thank you, Harry," Hermione smiled as they reached the Fat Lady. "You're very sweet, but I'm fine. You really don't need to worry about me."

They climbed through the portrait hole into the common room and Hermione pulled out her Transfiguration textbook.

"Besides," she said and she laid her book on the nearest table and began flicking through it, searching for the right page. "_you_ don't exactly need an evening off. You and Ron have hardly been working at all this year. It's like these exams don't matter to you."

Harry shrugged again. "There's life outside schoolwork, you know."

Hermione looked up from her page, staring at Harry with a look of disbelieving indignation in her eye. "I can't believe you said that," she whispered. "I _know_ there's more to life than schoolwork, but it's very important, especially now we're taking our O.W.Ls…"

"I know!" said Harry quickly. He really didn't want another row with Hermione – these rows tore his heart. "I never said you…"

"Well what _were_ you saying?" Hermione snapped.

"Well, just that you shouldn't let it run your life or let it come before more important things like friendship and stuff," Harry replied quickly.

"I never let school come before friendship!" Hermione shot back.

"Funny, that's mostly what we tend to row about, isn't it?" Harry found himself muttering despite himself, though his heart screamed in protest, begging him not to say it.

"Look, I worked **_very_** hard for five years to get to where I am now!" Hermione yelled. " and I'm **_not_** about to throw all of that away just before my exams, thanks you very much! And besides, it wouldn't hurt _you_ to take a break from taking a break and do some work!"

"Well, at least I don't let the Ministry of Magic's Education Department run my life!" Harry shouted back before he could stop himself. "You're a fanatic! You're obsessed! You're such a workaholic!"

He seemed to have touched a very sensitive nerve here. He tried to take it back before it was too late but he found his tongue wasn't functioning properly once he saw the expression of pained horror on Hermione's pretty face.

"Hermione, I…" Harry began , but she cut him across.

"You know what? Maybe I do take my work a bit too seriously, maybe I'm not as laid back about these exams as everyone else is," Hermione said quietly, her every syllable trembling with either rage or pain. "But at least I'm doing okay for myself! At least I'm not wallowing at the bottom of the class with bottom marks. I'm doing well and I'm pleased with myself, okay? And I don't…"

"Well, I'm sorry, but we can't all be perfect like you!" Harry yelled back. "We can't all be amazing, intelligent, wonderful, charming, as…beautiful on the inside as much as the outside like you…we can't all have your winning personality and every else I love about you…."

His anger faded with every description of her and he suddenly stopped, watching Hermione's eyes widen. 

"Oh, god, what have I done?" he groaned, then whipped around and dashed out of the portrait hole.

A/N You don't REALLY think I'd just leave it like that, do you? Well, if you do, think again because Chapter Two will be up as soon as I've written it and found a computer with a modem to upload it from (I'm using my neighbours' at the moment) . Btw, the whole Ron/Padma thing was just because I think she's a much more realistic option for Ron, instead of Lavender, who we don't know much about and besides, it's _true_ that all she ever does is suck up to Professor Trelawney and giggle. I just like Padma a lot more, so if Ron can't get Hermione, he should at least have someone I like so there! 

I know a lot of my fics start with a long list of emotions and I'm sorry. I know it's kinds boring, but I like to keep things real. I want the love between the characters to be genuine, so I'm sorry if it's less interesting, but I'm trying to make the plot a bit better. Besides, like I said, this IS my first H/Hr fic, so PLEEEEEEEEEEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW and make my day! PLEEEEEASE? Cheers!

Chapter Two - coming soon….


	2. Hermione's Reaction

Harry gazed across the dungeon at Hermione and felt his stomach twist itself into its familiar knot. He'd been staring at her more than ever over the past three days, except it wasn't with the usual dreamy adoration, but increasingly sick apprehension. Three days had gone by since their argument in the common room and they hadn't spoken to each other since - or rather, Harry hadn't spoken to her. It was quite clear from the way Hermione kept trying to catch his eye that she had a lot to say to him, but he was far too scared of what she had to say to give her a chance to say it to him. He avoided her during breaktimes by taking refuge in the Owlery pretending to visit Hedwig and, being unable to eat anyway due to the sick burning feeling lodged in his stomach since their row, spent mealtimes in the common room and evenings in his dormitory. Whatever it was Hermione wanted to tell him could well be the end of their friendship, although, on the other hand, Harry reasoned miserably, if he kept avoiding her like this their friendship was quite likely to die out anyway...  
  
"Harry!" Ron hissed, nudging him in the ribs and indicating the teacher's desk.  
  
Harry jumped and turned his gaze to the front of the classroom, where he found Snape's fathomless icy black eyes boring into his.  
  
Harry swallowed nervously as Snape narrowed his eyes and sneered. with some kind of evil satisfaction.  
  
"Detention, Potter!" he barked. "I've had enough of you dreaming your way through my lessons! You will scrub every inch of the dungeons tonight until I am satisfied with them! That might teach you to pay attention in my classes from now on!"  
  
Hermione threw a very quick sideways glance at Harry before standing up and yelling, "well, you can't exactly blame him for not listening when all you ever do is humiliate him! Perhaps if you showed a little more decency towards your pupils they might take your classes a bit more seriously! Don't you think Harry's got..."  
  
"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID LITTLE GIRL!" Snape spat. "You've spoken out of turn one time too many! I warned you not to critisise my teaching methods! Fifty points from Gryffindor and you will serve detention with Potter tonight!"  
  
Hermione lowered herself back into her seat, glaring at Snape with narrow-eyed hatred, though Harry could have sworn there was a gleam of satisfaction in her eyes.  
  
At nine thirty that evening, Harry made his way gloomily towards the dungeons. He'd spent the whole afternoon since double Potions worrying over this detention, not because of the task he'd been set - he was used to Snape's extreme punishments after suffering five years of his taunts and provocations. No, it was the fact that he was now about to face Hermione for the first time since he'd so foolishly spilled his innermost secret to her during their row. There was no way he could avoid her this time...perhaps he could pretend to have lost his hearing over the afternoon, so he wouldn't have to talk to her...maybe he could ask Ron to attack him or something, so he'd have to go up to the hospital wing...he was just being stupid - this is your best friend you're talking about! he reminded himself. She'll forgive and forget, she's that kind of person. you should know, you love her for that...besides, what's the worst thing she can say....?  
  
"Hi Harry!"  
  
Harry jumped. He'd been so engrossed in his thoughts, he'd hardly paid attention  
  
to where his feet were carrying him and was surprised to find he'd reached the Potions corridor already. And there she was, leaning against the wall, waiting for him with the astonishing smile that had captured his heart – Hermione Granger, the girl he loved so much yet suddenly feared so much as well…  
  
"Um, hi Hermione," he replied awkwardly.  
  
"Snape's already left," she explained, holding the heavy dungeon door open for him, "he said something about a staff meeting or something, but he made it very clear what we're supposed to be doing. We've got to clean every stain in every dungeon on this floor."  
  
"Um, right," said Harry, opening the cleaning cupboard at the back of the classroom.  
  
A rather awkward silence followed, in which Harry picked up a mop and began working on a puddle of armadillo bile.  
  
"You know," said Hermione after a moment, taking another stab at making conversation. " Ron and Padma must be getting serious, because I've never seen him so happy. I think he really deserves…"  
  
"Hermione…" Harry burst out, unable to take how calm she was being about all of this, acting as though nothing had happened, "about our row, look, I'm really really sorry and what I said about you was completely…"  
  
"Harry, calm down!" said Hermione quickly, alarmed by the panicked look on his face. "It's okay. Look, we've had our arguments in the past, this is just another one. We've always come through…I'm certainly not going to hold this one against you."  
  
Harry's alarmed expression slowly melted into one of relief.  
  
"…although I am pretty curious as why you said some of those things," Hermione admitted.  
  
Harry fidgeted with the mop handle, praying "those things" referred to the main part of their row about schoolwork as opposed to his confession that ended it.  
  
"Well, I told you," he said, forcing himself to look into her eyes, "I worry about you working yourself too hard. I'm really sorry, I never should have said those things."  
  
"But that's what you were thinking, wasn't it?"  
  
Harry lowered his eyes to the mop again and didn't reply.  
  
Hermione sighed.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry you think I'm a workaholic," she began, but Harry cut her across.  
  
"I never should have said that!"  
  
"No, I'm glad you did," said Hermione, " because, I…I've got a confession to make."  
  
She took a deep breath, apparently deciding how to phrase it, then said, "The truth is I really couldn't care less about these exams. I never really cared that much about doing well…schoolwork never really meant much to me. All the books, extra subjects and hours in the library you and Ron know me by…it's not me. I just hide behind books to…to hide my pain."  
  
"Pain?" said Harry bemused.  
  
Hermione took another deep breath and Harry was shocked to see a glow of terrible sadness in her beautiful eyes. When she spoke, her voice quivered and her eyes were glazed over with tears she was obviously fighting back.  
  
"I've had a very rough childhood, Harry. I know it's nothing next to what you've been through with the Dursleys, but...well, I'm an only child, I've always had the whole family permanently breathing down my neck to make sure I make the family proud and don't make any mistakes…I've always felt so alone…I never had a friend in the world before you and Ron, I never fitted in anywhere…"  
  
She swallowed a lump that had been forming in her throat before continuing. "And then I got my letter from Hogwarts and I decided this would be a fresh start for me. I was determined to do well at school for once and spent the summer going over my schoolbooks…I was sure Hogwarts would be different. But it wasn't. Apart from you and Ron, I've got no one…everyone makes fun me, I'm Muggle-born so I get bullied by the Slytherins…no one believed I could get a date for the Yule Ball last year – and look who I ended up going with – grumpy old Krum! And no, he didn't break my heart over the summer, that was just another one of Rita Skeeter's lies because I never felt a thing for him…so anyway, every time I get hurt, every time you or Ron fall out with me, every time someone teases me, every time I feel alone again, I hide in the library or behind a pile of books, where no one can see me cry…"  
  
At this point, her battle with her tear-ducts had ended with her defeat and tears of bitter sadness began leaking down her cheeks. Harry had an extreme powerful urge to put his arm around her as he thought of her words…it was true that every time he or Ron had fallen out with her she increased her studying, but he'd always thought it was just because, without him or Ron, she had nothing else to do…how could he have been so blind to his best friend's pain?  
  
"…So when you said I was obsessed with working, that really really hurt," Hermione continued through a knot in her throat, "because I don't work overtime out of choice…it's because…"  
  
The knot in her throat tightened and she was unable to say any more.  
  
"Hermione, I'm sorry," said Harry quietly, "I never knew…"  
  
"It's okay, Harry, really," she said quickly, drying her eyes on the back of her hand, " you weren't supposed to know, that was the idea…"  
  
Harry placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Well, if it's any consolation, Hermione, that's not why I like you."  
  
Hermione managed a small smile. "I know. Thanks, Harry."  
  
Something in her eyes told Harry she was keen to get off the subject, so, after searching his mind for an alternative one for a moment, he said, "So…what made you stand up to Snape today?"  
  
Hermione snorted.  
  
"About time someone did. It's disgusting the way he's always bullying the Gryffindors, you especially…"  
  
Harry raised his eyebrows questioningly.  
  
"Okay, and I wanted to get detention with you so we could talk," Hermione admitted, her old smile back in place.  
  
"What about?"  
  
It was Hermione's turn to raise her eyebrows at Harry this time. "I think you know. You've been avoiding me, haven't you?"  
  
Harry sighed. "Yeah, well, you can say what you like, Hermione, but that row we had on Tuesday night wasn't like any other we've had in the past, and you know it. I said some things that night that….well, I've never said before…"  
  
Hermione's eyes sparkled and she looked into Harry's.  
  
"I know that, silly! I'd like to know why you said them," she smiled.  
  
Harry stared at her. Was she trying to be funny? Why does anyone say…what he'd said?  
  
"Why?!" he repeated.  
  
"What I mean is, were you just getting carried away again or did you actually mean them?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Well, of course I meant them," said Harry, unsure whether he should be saying this or not, but then got the feeling of 'there's no turning back now' a nervous bungee jumper might get after throwing himself off a cliff and kept going. "I wouldn't say I…I loved you if I didn't mean it!"  
  
Hermione's twinkling eyes glowed even more warmly as her smile broadened. "Oh, is that how you meant it?"  
  
"What d'you mean?" Harry asked blankly, completely stumped as to what she was playing at.  
  
Hermione shrugged cheerfully. "Well, there are a lot of qualities I love about Ron, but…" she hesitated, "but not in the same way I love those qualities about you." Then just to make her point absolutely clear she added, "I love you."  
  
(A/N – sorry about this: I'm not sure I can really describe what Harry might be feeling at the moment, because I've no idea myself. No girl has ever said that to me and the way things are looking at the moment, no girl ever will, so I'll just have to guess, based on my dreams…sorry about that)  
  
Harry's jaw dropped. One side of him wanted to scream with joy, while another, more practical side suggested he didn't get too worked up before he made absolutely sure he'd heard what he thought (and desperately hoped) he'd heard and not what he wanted to hear.  
  
"You…love me?" he stammered. "You mean you actually……me? As in me, Harry Potter?"  
  
Hermione simply smiled. "Yes, I love you. You, as in Harry Potter, the boy who lived – pages 236 to 258 in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts…I mean that you."  
  
Harry now convinced himself his ears wouldn't have failed him twice and was dying to burst out that he shared this love, that his love for her couldn't be deeper…but his tongue seemed to have different ideas to those of his heart, because all that came tumbling out of his mouth was, "Since when?"  
  
"Since you first grabbed that old school Shooting Star and chased after Malfoy to get Neville's Rememberall back in our first year," Hermione explained. "That was when I realised you weren't just a hero from ten years ago, that was when I fell for your bravery, kindness, caring for others…willing even to risk your neck on the a broomstick for the first time and getting expelled for Hogwarts to help someone else. An you hated Malfoy, which was another bonus," she smiled. "I've loved you ever since, Harry. I can't believe you never got any of my hints over five years…I was sure the Broomstick Servicing Kit would get the message across, even if nothing else did."  
  
"I didn't want to get my hopes up, I suppose," Harry muttered, feeling stupid.  
  
"I'll never forgive you, you know," Hermione beamed, putting her arms around his neck and gazing into his eyes. "keeping me waiting like that for four and a half years."  
  
Harry grinned. "You've got the same to answer for, so why don't we just…?"  
  
"Kiss and make up?" Hermione suggested, then without waiting for an answer, pulled a disbelieving Harry into their first kiss. If this wasn't heaven, Harry didn't know what was…this had to be the most wonderful experience he'd ever had…sharing his first ever kiss, his virgin lips pressed against those of the girl he loved more than anyone in the world, the girl, moreover, who shared the same deep love for him…her warm, soft lips playing with his own…her arms tightened around his neck, as he tightened his grip on her back, pulling her closer…  
  
When they broke apart, they just gazed dreamily into each other's eyes for a moment, then Harry said, "Um, Hermione? Will you go out with me?"  
  
Hermione's eyes gleamed joyfully. "I'd love to. When?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "I dunno…tomorrow night? We won't get these dungeons cleaned much before about one in the morning."  
  
Hermione grinned mischievously. "You've forgotten who you've got with you."  
  
She pulled out her wand and with one sweep of it every stain and smudge in the room vanished, leaving the dungeon was immaculate.  
  
"You were saying?" Hermione asked.  
  
Harry kissed her in reply.  
  
A/N Sorry that took so long. Chapter three….I'm not sure if I'll do one or not, it all depends on feedback – that's where you come in, dear reader! So pleeeeease review and there's a very good chance I'll continue…if you liked it, that is.. 


	3. To Date or not to Date

A/N I am soooooooo sorry this took me long! Anyway, here it is!

Harry and Hermione crossed the Entrance Hall and climbed the marble staircase, Harry privately wondering when he'd ever felt lighter and happier. Not even half an hour ago, he was trembling from head to toe at the prospect of facing Hermione and fearing the end of their friendship. Now, not only were he and Hermione still friends, she had just told him what he'd only heard in his dreams followed by their first kiss, which left Harry feeling slightly dizzy, as he still dared himself to believe it had really happened. And now, unbelievably enough, they were on their way to their first date! Harry couldn't take that in! Everything else that had happened that evening could have just been said or done in the heat of the moment, Hermione could have just been carried away with her confession about her work…but a **_date_**? Wow! Harry was feeling so elated, he couldn't really think of anything to say. 

"Are we taking the Honeydukes passage?" Hermione asked, as they climbed another staircase.

"Yeah, I think so," Harry smiled at her. "It's the only real way to get into Hogsmeade from he- "

Harry broke off and he felt his stomach drop several inches. They had reached the middle of the third floor corridor, where the statue of the one-eyed humped witch should have stood. Instead, they were facing a bare stretch of very solid-looking wall, very much like any other in the castle. 

Harry was shocked. How long had the statue been missing? He hadn't used the Honeydukes tunnel since his third year and didn't even look at the secret entrance at all during his fifth year…but it had been there three days ago; Ron and Padma had used it the night he and Hermione had had that row, so where was it now? 

Almost automatically, he reached out and slowly ran his hands over the bricks, half-hoping to find a loose one he could pull out or something. Hermione meanwhile pulled out her wand and tapped the wall sharply and said, "_Dissendium_", though the wall stayed stubbornly still. 

"Going somewhere, Potter?" barked an icy voice behind them, making them both jump.

Harry and Hermione turned to see Snape striding down the corridor towards them, looking venomously pleased to have caught them. 

"Wondering where your precious escape tunnel is?" he sneered. "well, you will be interested to know that Professor Dumbledore destroyed it two nights ago."

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other quickly, their hearts slipping a few more inches.

"I suppose you'd like to know how he found out about it?" said Snape, a dry smile twisting unpleasantly on his sallow face. "It was that map of yours, Potter. You gave Moody that map of Hogwarts last year, did you not? Well, the Headmaster confiscated it after using the Veritaserum and only recently has he had a chance to examine it. He destroyed it the tunnel himself, primarily for security reasons with the Dark Lord's return to power, but it has proved very useful otherwise, too - like preventing students running off into the village, **_when they're supposed to be doing their detention!"_**

Snape yelled the last bit, making the two teenagers flinch and back into the wall.

"But Professor, we've fin -" Harry began, but Hermione clapped a hand to his mouth and pulled him down the corridor to the dungeons before Snape could take any more points off Gryffindor.

Back in the dungeons, Harry leaned against the wall and folded his arms. 

"How can they do this us?" he muttered furiously, kicking a nearby cauldron.

"Well, you've got to admit, Dumbledore's right," said Hermione, leaning against the wall beside him and taking his hand. "The Death Eaters have been a lot more active recently and they could well find out about the tunnel through Honeydukes." 

Harry still looked downcast, so Hermione kissed him on the cheek and added, "Don't worry, we'll find a way out of here."

But they didn't. The following evening, they tried flying out of the grounds on Harry's Firebolt, but just as they rose over the North Tower, they hit an invisible barrier, which Hermione recognized as the Bubble-Locking Charm, which had been placed over the castle, presumably till the last day of term. Then they tried the Whomping Willow passage, hoping to get to the village through the Shrieking Shack, only to find the tree no longer froze when they pressed the knot in its trunk and had to crawl back under its furious branches on their stomachs. 

Attempt followed futile attempt and eventually, they gave up. Hermione managed to save their O.W.L marks with a Speed-Reading Charm she'd discovered, which meant they could get through their revision in a tenth of the time. Harry left his final exam unable to believe he'd mastered all that schoolwork in one week and that he'd made it through his exams without dying of frustration. 

But his frustration was yet to come. Dumbledore called him to his office on the last day of term and made him swear that under no circumstances would he leave the Dursley household over the summer. 

"I have placed similar charms to the ones on the school over number 4 Privet Drive," he explained gravely. "If you stay in the house, you will be as safe from Voldemort as I can make you. You may only leave the Dursleys if Sirius, Professor Lupin or myself tell you to, is that clear?"

"But Professor, Hermione…."Harry began, but Dumbledore cut him across.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow to see Ron or Hermione during the summer holidays," he said sharply. "I will order your school supplies by Owl Order for you. I don't want you going to Diagon Alley either. Promise me, Harry."

Resigned to the worst, Harry promised.

* * * *

Harry and Hermione had an emotional farewell at King's Cross the following day on Platform 9¾. After swearing to be in touch, they shared one last kiss and then stepped through the barrier, where they found the Dursleys waiting for Harry with their usual frowns of intense dislike, apparently in a hurry to get away from all of the weirdoes around them. Harry dejectedly hauled his trunk onto a trolley and followed the Dursleys out of the station, glancing back at Hermione, who mouthed, "Love you, sweetheart!" at him. Harry grinned and mouthed "love you too!" back, before Uncle Vernon opened the car door and shoved Harry inside. 

The next few days were some of the worst in Harry's life. He missed Hermione too much to be able to eat or sleep very much, and his promise to Dumbledore meant there were still another six weeks until he'd see her on the Hogwarts Express. He couldn't _ever_ remember time going as slow as it was now. The injustice of it was torturing him; he'd had almost fifteen years without parental love, five of which he'd spent secretly loving his best friend and now that he finally had love in his life, the love he'd been dreaming about for five years, good old Voldie's got to return and exile Harry from the girl he loved for a whole summer of torture. 

Harry sat gloomily with his face in him hands on the sofa, ignoring the shrill ringing of the phone beside him. Uncle Vernon glared at Harry as he got up and answered the phone himself.

"Vernon Dursley speaking," he growled into the receiver.

"Hello, I was wondering if I could have a word with Mr. Harry Potter?" came a calm voice on the other end of the line, making Harry jump.

"Who is this?" Uncle Vernon barked, remembering the last time someone had called for the boy, some nutcase from that- that _school_ screaming down the phone… 

"My name is Rita Skeeter," came the reply, "I'm a reporter for the Daily Proph- er, Mail and we're doing a piece about orphans…I was wondering if I interview your, er, orphan in residence."

Uncle Vernon threw the receiver at Harry's forehead and marched out of living room, slamming the door behind him.

Hands trembling, Harry pressed the phone to his ear and said, "Hermione, that was brilliant!"

"I know!" said Hermione, sounding quite pleased with herself. "I had to think about that one. If I tried phoning you the way Ron did, I'm not sure there would be much left of you."

Harry laughed. 

"How are you, Harry?" said Hermione, a note of concern in her voice.

"I'd be a lot better if I wasn't missing you so much," he admitted. 

"I know, I miss you like mad too," said Hermione. "That's why I phoned. I was wondering if you wanted to…you know…"

"What?"

"…go on that date we've both been waiting for forever?" 

Harry's heart sank. "Hermione, you know there's nothing I want more, but I told you, I swore to Dumbledore…"

"Oh yeah, I forgot," said Hermione sadly. "So you can't leave Privet Drive at all?"

"I can't leave number 4," Harry corrected dejectedly.

"Not even to Diagon Alley where there are loads of Aurors patrolling the place?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"No. Believe me, Hermione I've been _dying_ to go out with you for _years_…"

"Okay!" said Hermione brightly. "fine. If you can't come out, I'll come and visit you!" 

Harry was sure he'd hadn't heard correctly. "Sorry?"

"It's very simple! We're both dying to see each other. You can't come out of prison to see me, so I'll come and see you in prison! We don't have to have a date in town, we can have one in your room!"

For a moment, Harry worried about what the Dursleys would make of this, how they'd react to having one of his friends in their house, but as he heard Hermione breathing softly down the phone, his love for her stamped out these concerns. 

"You're on!" he grinned. "How about tonight?"

"Can't wait," said Hermione cheerfully. "See you then!"

"I love you Hermione," he said, as the living room door opened and Dudley waddled in, forcing him to cut the conversation short.

"Love you more, sweetie," she said, then signed off before Harry could correct her.

Feeling lighter than a helium balloon, Harry went up to his room, full of the happiness only love can bring.

A/N there's the long awaited chapter three. Okay? I really hope you like it because I've just spent four hours writing it – non stop! And PLEASE, if you've got a heart at all and feel like adding some light to a teenager's life, (a teenager who'd give anything to be in Harry's shoes, may I add) if you want to do your good deed for the day, PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS, SPRINKLES, HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS, WHIPPED CREAM AND A ZILLION CHERRIES ON TOP PLEEE-HEE-HEEEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!(this _is_ kind of pathetic, isn't it? **;-)**

Chapter Four….coming as soon as I get some reviews….


	4. The Date

Sometimes you don't have to be a mad-eyed, wooden-legged badly scarred retired Auror to feel a bit, well, paranoid. There are times when you just can't help feeling life is out to get you with its annoying habits and rules just for the sheer sake of being obnoxious. A very good example of this would be the infuriating patterns time chooses to work in - shooting off at full speed ahead like a Firebolt under a powerful Banishing Charm when it knows you're dreading the future or snailing by like a ancient Oakshaft79 going backwards when you're desperately looking forward to something. 

Harry Potter was suffering from the latter, dying for the afternoon to hurry up and make way for the evening when Hermione was supposed to come round for their first date. He'd spent the afternoon pacing his room, checking himself in the mirror, trying unsuccessfully to make his hair behave and, just to keep his mind busy, debating whether he should tell the Dursleys about Hermione's arrival or not.

Eventually, at six thirty when he could pace his room no more, Harry went down to the living room where he found the three Dursleys with their backs to him, watching a particularly soppy soap opera on television. Not one of them gave the slightest sign of recognition of his presence and normally Harry would have liked to keep it that way, quiet and relatively friendly, but this time he had to break the silence...

He cleared his throat tentavely. Uncle Vernon's moustache bristled and Aunt Petunia narrowed her eyes, but other than that there was no response.

"Um, Uncle Vernon? Aunt Petunia?" Harry tried timidly. 

Uncle Vernon gave a grunt as through it wasn't his fault his ears were exposed to what Harry had to say. 

"I've, um, invited one of my friends round for the evening," Harry said nervously. "Um, hope you don't mind."

The Dursleys' reactions were almost exactly the way Harry had predicted them; Aunt Petunia's narrowed eyes snapped to their widest extent in horror, Dudley let out a yelp and quickly grabbed his bottom with his fat hands, while Uncle Vernon turned around in his armchair like a great bulldozer doing a U-turn, his purple face turning a deep maroon colour.

"You did **_WHAT?!!_****_" he thundered, making the china ornaments on the mantlepiece rattle._**

"I invited a friend round," said Harry more firmly. He wasn't going to let the Dursleys stop Hermione coming round, not after everything else that had come in the way of their first date until now.

Uncle Vernon grabbed the front of Harry's baggy blue T-shirt and pulled his face nearer his. "HOW DARE YOU INVITE MORE ABNORMAL...MORE...MORE OF **_YOUR LOT_****_ AROUND HERE AGAIN?!"_**

His tiny sharp eyes darted to the now repaired fireplace the Weasleys had blasted apart two summers ago when they'd come to pick Harry up for the Quidditch World Cup. 

"This is a different friend!" said Harry quickly. "They're from a Mug- I mean, normal family...they'll dress properly and...."

"I COULDN'T CARE LESS WHO THEY'RE FAMILY IS OR WHAT THEY'RE WEARING, THEY'RE NOT SETTING FOOT IN MY HOUSE!!!" Uncle Vernon bellowed, spraying Harry with spit. "YOU CAN JUST PHONE THIS...THIS FRIEND OF YOURS AND TELL THEM THAT FOR ME!"

Harry opened his mouth furiously to say he'll do no such thing and that he didn't have Hermione's phone number anyway, when a tremendous bang outside interrupted. The Dursleys, oddly enough didn't seem to have heard anything because not one of them had even blinked; they just kept staring at him with either furious or (in Dudley's case) fearful eyes. 

Harry glanced curiously out of the far kitchen window in time to see several lampposts and dustbins jumping out of the way of the triple-decker Knight Bus. Fighting a grin down, Harry turned back to his uncle's plum-coloured face, doing a mental countdown. Three...Harry thought...two..one...

The doorbell rang. 

Harry wrenched his T-shirt out of Uncle Vernon's fist and raced out of the room and down the hall to the front door. He could hear the Dursleys scrambling frantically from their seats and chasing after him, but Harry had turned the lock and opened the door. 

"Hi Hermione, I'm..." he began breathlessly but was unable to say anything more when he saw her.

The girl standing in the doorway was beyond mortal beauty. She was wearing a dazzling sleeveless dress of deep reddish-pink, sparkling with a magical perfection that Harry could only guess had come from Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions in Diagon Alley. She'd obviously used the Sleekeazy Hair Potion she'd used before the Yule Ball two years ago because her normally bushy hair was pulled back in a long gleaming nut-coloured ponytail which snaked magnificently down the back of her neck and rested on her bare right shoulder, though her glossy fringe was sweeping to the left as usual. But easily the most astonishing part of her were her bright caramel-coloured eyes, which twinkled in wordless greeting when Harry opened the door to her. 

"Good evening, Harry," said Hermione in her beautifully soft voice. 

Harry managed to jerk his tongue into life. "Hi Hermione. You...you look stunning."

Hermione smiled her godly smile and Harry's heart gave an enormous leap.. "Thank you." 

Their eyes locked on each other for a moment until Hermione cleared her throat and indicated they were not alone.

"Oh, are these your relatives, Harry?" she asked, even though she'd seen them before at King's Cross every year. 

Harry glanced over his shoulder at the hall behind him and had to fight down a laugh. The three Dursleys were gaping at Hermione with the same disbelieving expression everyone in the Great Hall had worn at the start of the Yule Ball when she'd walked in with Krum. Dudley, Harry saw, was eyeing her with even more interest for obvious reasons. 

"Yep, that's my Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and my cousin Dudley," Harry said brightly, grinning at the looks on their faces. "Imagine, at first they didn't even _want you to come round."_

"No!" Hermione said in mock horror. 

Uncle Vernon cleared his throat vaguely and said, "This...this is your friend then, is it?" in a tone to match his expression.

"Oh, yeah, this is Hermione," Harry smiled. "I told you she wasn't that bad."

Harry held the door open for Hermione and it wasn't until she'd stepped into the house that he noticed the Knight Bus parked across the road in number five's rose garden. 

"All right there, Neville?" a cheerful Stan Shunspike called across the road before Harry hastily closed the door, praying Hermione hadn't heard that.

"Neville?" Hermione repeated, her eyebrows raised in surprise at Harry who felt himself going red. 

"Long story," Harry muttered, leading her up the stairs to his room, with one last cheerful wave at the dumbstruck Dursleys.

Harry closed his bedroom door and turned to look at Hermione, who was sitting on his bed wearing an expression of concern on her pretty face.

"I'm sorry, Harry, did the Dursleys give you a lot of trouble about me coming?" she asked.

"Nah, not really," Harry smiled reassuringly. "A bit of shouting, a bit of screaming…but I wasn't going to let them stop you."

Hermione smiled back, and Harry felt the whole room glowed with her smile too. "Yeah, we've let Snape, Dumbledore and You-Know-Who come in our way," she laughed, "it would be a bit embarrassing if we let a load of Muggles stop us as well."

Harry gave a small confused frown at the word "Muggles" 

"We're about as much Muggles as they are during the summer, aren't we?" he pointed out.

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, we're not allowed to do magic outside school, are we?" Harry shrugged. 

Hermione smiled and shook her head making her gleaming ponytail sway magnificently. "You're so out of touch, Harry," she said affectionately and from a very tight pocket in her dress Harry could hardly see, she pulled out newspaper cutting. 

"There you go," she said handing the cutting over to Harry. "That announcement appeared in the Daily Prophet last week – apparently they've cancelled the Decree of Underaged Wizardry for security reasons. You know, now that You-Know-Who's up and about the Ministry's got to have all hands on deck and everyone has to be alert and ready to face him, so even underaged witches and wizards have to walk around with functioning wands…there are Wand-Weighing tests going on all over the place…"

A huge grin grew on Harry's face as he read the announcement. "Can you imagine the look on the Dursleys face when they see this?" he laughed as he handed it back to Hermione, who giggled as she put it in her back pocket. 

Hermione glanced around the room. "You've got a nice room," she commented when a small silence followed their laughter. 

Harry tried looking at it objectively, but it still looked a mess to him. "I'm sorry, I know it's not the ideal setting for our first date, but Dumbledore…"

Hermione shook her head again and Harry was once again entranced by the smooth way her very long ponytail swayed. She pulled out her wand and closed her eyes as she pressed it to her heart, then asked Harry to do the same. Then she placed the tips of the wands together and muttered some words Harry couldn't make out. A shower of gold sparks burst out of the wands and a moment later, Harry was gazing in disbelief at what a moment beforehand had been his room. 

His bed, desk and wardrobe had vanished and instead he and Hermione were standing in a beautiful classroom-sized room decorated from floor to ceiling with climbing plants and tropical flowers that would have looked very much at home in an Amazonian rainforest. A small waterfall trickled from the wall where Harry's bedside table should have been and the soft twittering songs of tiny exotic birds could be heard softly in the background. But the truly remarkable thing sat right in the middle of room, in some sort of spotlight; at the bottom of a shaft of bright yellowish-moonlight was a small round table set for two with a snow-white tablecloth, white-and-gold china plates and a crystal vase that stood right in the centre of the table holding two ruby-red roses.

"Wow!" was all Harry could say. "Hermione, how did you do that?"

Hermione smiled again, her perfect teeth glinting in the moonlight. "That was the Erised-Heart Charm. When two loving hearts want something for each other or for the two of them together, the spell makes a compromise between the two wishes and places the lovers in it. In our case it was the ideal setting for our first date you were talking about."

Harry could only grin in amazement. "Two loving hearts…" he muttered as he glanced around the room, "that would be us, all right."

He and Hermione seated themselves at the table and the china plates magically filled themselves with food. Harry was impressed. 

"This seems like an extremely complicated spell," he commented.

"Well, it only works if the love between the two conjuring it is genuine and pure," Hermione replied, getting started on her food. "No wonder it's working so well for us," she added quietly.

Harry gave her a very warm affectionate look before picking up his fork and spearing a roast potato. 

They ate in silence for a while, their hearts saying what words could never express, singing their happiness for just being together, then Harry voiced something he'd been pondering for a while.

"Hermione, you know you said you'd dropped me loads of hints over the past five years about how you loved me? Well, what kind of hints did you drop? I mean…."

Hermione swallowed the slice of pie she was chewing and said, "oh, loads of them. I can't even remember all of them…I gave you that hug down in that chamber with Snape's potion riddle in our first year because I wasn't sure I'll ever see you again and I told you you were a great wizard and what I thought of you because I didn't know if I'd ever get the chance if anything happened to you…. Let's see…I sent you that Valentine's poem with one of Lockhart's cupid dwarves…"

"That was from you?" Harry exclaimed. "I thought it was from Ginny!"

"No, it was from me," Hermione shook her head. "Just to show you everything I pretended to adore about Lockhart I really loved about you…I can't believe _that went wrong. I dunno, I wasn't there, but trust Malfoy to make you think that was from Ginny! Um, let's see, after that…oh yeah I sent you the Broomstick Servicing Kit for your thirteenth birthday…I signed my letters 'Love from Hermione'…all those walks we took around the lake last year when you and Ron weren't talking…I kissed you at King's Cross last summer, I mean come on, Harry, how much more obvious can you get?"_

"Don't make me feel worse," Harry groaned. 

"It's okay, sweetheart," Hermione smiled, reaching over and taking his hand, "I was only teasing you. Now let me ask you something. If you loved me for four and a half years, how come you never dropped any clues? Or did you?"

"No, I didn't," Harry admitted. "Mainly because you and Ron were my only two friends in the world and I really didn't want to destroy our friendship. I loved you too much as a friend to risk anything. Then, as I loved you more and more I kept having to work harder to keep my mouth shut and not to let anything slip. I sort of got a lot of your hints but I didn't want to get my hopes up or let them lead me to say or do anything stupid. Then I thought, if ever there was a good time to tell you what I felt for you it was the Yule Ball, but that was when Ron's little crush on you developed -"

"Ron?!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yeah, Ron. He told me he had a crush on you just before the Ball – why do you think he was so jealous of Krum? – and that was when I really decided to back out before the three of us fell out….it was pretty painful I can tell you. But then after the second task, he and Padma gave each other a second chance and I felt you were…"

"Off the hook?" Hermione smiled.

"Yeah," Harry grinned. "But then Rita Skeeter spread that rumour about Krum breaking your heart over the summer and I didn't want to ask you about it in case it was a sensitive subject and I sort of gave up after that. I didn't want to hurt you like I thought he did…I wanted you to feel I would never let you down as a friend and I couldn't do that if I told you I love you when you seemed vulnerable, could I? Besides, by that time I just felt, you know, '_Give it up, Harry, she's too good for you…'"_

"Funny, that's exactly what I was thinking about you," Hermione admitted. "I think we're too good for each other."

"No, I think we're just right for each other," said Harry. "I think it's been well worth the wait and I don't know about you but I feel like there's always been a chunk missing out of my life and now…well, now I just feel whole. I feel like…like I've found what I've always wanted…like a sort of goal I've been dying to reach…an impossible dream that could never come true…and it just has. I always thought this love I have for you…I always thought it was one-sided, like I was never meant to be loved by anyone, let alone you…and now, Hermione, you've just made my world…wonderful. And believe me, Hermione, I couldn't love you more."

Hermione was always one for getting emotional and bursting into tears at the strangest of times, but in this case only a single tear trickled silently down her beautiful face as she gazed at Harry with all the love and affection in her heart glowing in her eyes. 

"You know I love you too, Harry," she said quietly. "And much as I loved you in previous years, much as I dreamed about you telling me you shared my love and asking me out and just…being mine…I never really thought it would happen. But I still waited for you. That's the only reason I turned Neville down when he asked me to the Ball, because I was waiting for you to ask me to go with you and I was so heartbroken when you asked Parvati, I took the first offer I got, which happened to be Krum. But I never felt a thing for him. Because I've always loved you and I know it sounds pretty cheap and corny now when we're just teenagers – and teenage romances never last too long- , but I really feel like I'll always love you. Like what we've got right now…"

"…is powerful enough to last forever?" Harry finished for her, voicing what his heart had been telling him since that fateful detention all those weeks ago. 

Hermione nodded silently.

There was no more to be said. They'd gone as far as words could take them and now it was time to follow their hearts' instructions. The two faces leaned slowly closer, the eyelids drooped, the lips outstretched and finally touched. For perhaps a second, the mouths remained frozen before jerking into life and closing in on each other, connecting the two halves into one whole body. Their lips felt as warm as their hearts as Harry placed a hand on the back of Hermione's head and pulled her closer, Hermione wound her arms around Harry's neck and Harry placed his other hand on her back pulling her to him. The two lovers held onto each other like the world would end if they ever let go, both still unable to believe they were in each other's arms, sharing the same love for each other…and the same heart. 

When they eventually broke apart, Harry's dazzlingly green eyes gazed into Hermione's twinkling caramel-coloured ones and he felt he had to say it. He'd said it countless times before, but something about those eyes made him feel he had to say it every time he looked into them It was certainly what he felt….

"I love you, Hermione Granger," he whispered.


End file.
